Small- and medium-sized businesses that import into the U.S. are under the same obligations to comply with complex laws and regulations as large multinational corporations. Get something wrong and your company could face costly delays and margin-killing penalties. Corporate officers and executives could even be held personally liable for import-related mistakes. Thankfully, implementing compliance measures is easier and less costly than many small business owners and managers realize.

A new federal initiative is underway to leverage government data to help improve decision-making throughout the economy, and to facilitate the release of more information to the public. “As ‘America’s Data Agency,’ we are working to unleash more of the Commerce Department’s data to strengthen our nation’s economic growth,” says U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. Yet the World Bank says the country accounts for 20 percent of global GDP output. For years our large market satisfied the goals of American manufacturers. But that has changed. And when considering CIA data that indicates our growth rates are lower than 150 other countries, it becomes obvious that U.S. companies need to seek faster growing markets abroad.

There has been much press about the growth in U.S. exports. And for good reason. Nearly 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States and approximately 74 percent of the global commerce now occurs abroad. In turn, American companies that become exporters often grow faster, hire more employees, and benefit the U.S. economy to a greater extent.

American manufacturing leads the world in productivity and innovation, and material-handling equipment is an area that has a tremendous impact on productivity. From strategies to eliminate unnecessary steps to “smart” machinery that can communicate over wireless networks, here are the top positive impacts that material-handling innovations will have on American manufacturing and distribution companies.